VW Golf

Comments

I bought a 99 Golf Gls (Manual Transmission) with 110,000 km. I've put on 35 k since then and it still runs perfectly. All I've done is get my oil changes. Also, I'm 6'3 and am very pleased with the leg room (superior to most American designed vehicles I've driven). VW makes an excellent product.

VW is offering some big big big incentives for the '04 models right now... making it hard to resist.

I am currently leasing a Passat, but the lease is about to expire. I have my eyes on the Golf, since I do mostly city driving, and desire something a bit smaller. The Golf is certainly more reasonably priced than the MINIs, which are selling above sticker.

I wish the 4-Door Golf had the 1.8T engine in it. The GTI's "sport seats" basically make it a non-starter for me, as I find them quite uncomfortable.

New to the list and really only have one question. Inside the Headlight Housing is a Parking lamp. Does anyone know the type of bulb used and does anyone know where I can get the female harness that plugs into the connector?

I have a 2000 Golf GLS 4-dr. with the all weather package, etc. I have had nothing but problems with this car since day one. I had a 2000 Jetta GL and traded it for the Golf. Both of them have had the same problems. Only have 70k miles on my Golf and have had it for a year and 9 mos. Have spent over $1000 (that's with an extended warranty) on fixing stupid things. Driver's seat airbag has been replaced 3x, passenger side airbag 1x, both driver's side and passenger side window harnesses and pulleys replaced, new catalytic converter, new muffler, various electrical problems, problems with anti-theft system, check engine light, new vacuum hoses, O2 sensor and the list goes on. I have learned the hard way about VW. I have been told by VW salesmen that VW's have ALWAYS had electrical problems, and they are overpriced for what they are worth. I sure hope that you don't have the same problems I do. Now that I'm trying to trade my car in, they won't even give me 1/4 of what I paid for it because of my long drawn out service reports. And I definitely take care of my cars, always have.

Your single anecdote of evidence is balanced by my family's unrusty '91 Toyota Tercel, '92 Toyota Corolla, '92 Nissan Sentra, and '85 Subaru wagon. The Sentra is a pretty low quality car. No reliability issues, but it isn't fun to drive either. The Corolla's great on reliability and quality, but it puts me to sleep. The Tercel is well put together except for the engine; I think it's fun, too. The Subaru... let's just call it "rugged" (no rust though). We used to have Volkswagons but they were late '70s - early '80s models. Probably not fair to compare them (was your rusty Honda from that era?).

Your experience with the Golf is probably typical. Just keep in mind there are many drivers - an uncommonly many - that have "frequent" electrical problems rather than your "occasional" ones. The chances of getting a car like that scares people off, including myself.

You're right about quality, though you do pay for it. VW has that down, and it's a selling point that none of its direct competitors boasts.

As for fun... tuners, racers, and reviewers have all called the Mk IV Golf soft and heavy, and not fun. I'll have to give one a test drive though, because VW owners always claim otherwise. But they're the only ones.

Quality....the overmolded plastics are nice, but damn....it does have the tendency to peel off. The Golf 4-doors tend to have mis-aligned doors (they leak water), and faulty rubber on the window seal (both front ones are cracked apart)...it's a bit more tempermental than my previous Toyotas...but it's (especially the TDI) fun to drive. The tiny radio knobs broke off (common occurence on the double dins). The armrest latch broke (another common occurrence)...at least the car is screwed together better than my cousin's SLK320 (it seems like Mercedes used bubble gum to put the interior together, since something was always wrong with the interior)

Electrical problems....had to pull fuse #42 twice to fix the Premium VI glitch and the CD player went (good excuse to buy a better radio), and the hatch lock switch has its mood swings.

Rust...this past winter, sand blasted by rocks, there are some rust formed in the chips at the base of the windshield. I've seen my fair share of rusty VW's, but it's hard to compare a 2 year old car to a 10+ years old car.

I've had a K&N filter for the past 90,000 miles...my MAF sensor is still alive and kicking.

Though my bearings are toast...but not the front brakes. The rears...were too soft, that they coated the rear wheels with brake dust. ATE pads were too soft, so came TRW pads from the factory, which my car came with...47,000 miles replaced the pads (they still had decent life left...the new compound that lasted longer but still dusted like crazy) with Mintex.

With all the little problems, I'd still buy another VW, only as long as it's a TDI

Hey I know you all have heard this a lot but my question is a little different. I am in the market for a new car and had been looking at Civic's and Protege and then I found a really gorgeous 2000 Golf 4dr GLS. Its Automatic and has 74k miles on it. The dealer is asking roughly 8k for it which from what I can see is not a bad deal though If I decide on it I will try to talk him down. So heres my question. Does anyone still have their 2000 Golf? Most of what I have read or am able to find are people who have only put roughly 45k miles on them. Im curious as to how long it will last 150k? 200K? Also im absolutely terrified by everything I have read. -- Windows falling in, Check engine light frequently coming on, dead O2 sensor, Electrical problems galore. I guess my big question is once these items are fixed to they keep breaking or is it over and done with. If thats the case I would assume this car had gone through much of the "rough" break in and then be pretty good. Or do they just get worse with age. If you have any good information please respond. My car was just totalled and I need to purchase a vehicle soon. I dont want to buy this Golf and regret it.

If it were any other car I would have probably written it off already but its soo gorgeous and so much fun to drive that I cant stop thinking about it. Please let me know what you guys think.

My daughter has the same year Golf. Do not forget that the 2.0L engine of that vintage is known to use a litte oil.

This, in itself, is not a problem...BUT if one does not carry oil with them and top it off BEFORE the pressure light comes on... there may be issues. Like any other engine without oil it will destroy itself.

If you keep oil in it, that engine will last at least 150K miles. Do not forget that it is based on the Diesel engin block.

ALso MAKE SURE you get both keyfobs. They are over $100 each to replace.

Whats that about O2 sensor? I have never heard anything specific about VW and O2 sensors. O2 sensors typacally last about 60K miles on ANY vehicle.

I do not clean the snowscreen the way the video shows. The snowscreen is plastic (almost like pantihose) and easilly damaged by scraping. What I do is remove the snowscreen from the end of the tube and use the garden-hose sprayer to backflush the snowscreen with water-spray. I do this to ALL the VWs in the family annually.

A plugged snowscreen will cause loss of MPG and increased oil-consumpton due to excessive vaccuum on the PCV system.

I just bought a used 2004 Golf GLS and noticed that when it was low on fuel, there was a squeaky noise that came from under the car. Once I filled up, the noise was gone. Is this a normal thing for this car????

That crash test is of the all new Golf due here in 2006. The test of the 1998 Golf would match that of the 2005, except in the side impact since our Golf has head curtain airbags and the one they tested did not.

I know this is an old thread............now it's nearly March 2005,,,,,,,,,,,,But you are absolutely RIGHT about Asian cars. I live in a climate where we have a MINIMUM of 6 mos. of winter per year, and every Honda I see that's 3 years old or more is rusted, especially in the wheelwells. I, too, would rather fix a few electrical glitches, which incidentally are blown way out of proportion to begin with,(VW's are excellent cars) than to repair rust every 3 years. I ignore Consumer Reports, because they don't think ANY car is good unless it has a Honda or Toyota badge.

The solution for rust is as simple as spending about 150 to 200 bucks to have your car thoroughly undercoated and rust-proofed the first week after purchase.I have had several japanese cars with no rust after 10 years.

Rustproofing is usually a waste of money and often voids any Manufacturers corrosion warantee.

I actually PAID to have rusproofing done to a brand-new Honda once. (The Honda dealer was selling this.) The agreement was that if I brought it in to be "inspected" once a year and have them put a stamp in a book, they would guarantee against rust for as long as I owned it.YAA RIGHT! After 3 years, they changed their mind and announced that they were disbanding the inspectinos and warantee. The Honda ended up with huge rust holes in it anyway.

Volkswagen, Audi, MB are all undercoated and rustproofed AT THE FACTORY where it should happen. Their warantee EXPLICITLY says that adding anything else voids the warantee.

Dont take my word for it, look UNDER any VW (Pick any year...it does not matter) There is a very thick layer of rubber on the entire underside. Then, open the hood and look into the nooks & crannies, that rubber coating is EVERYWHERE. (Some of it is painted indicating that it is applied very early in the manufacturing stage.)

A VW is DESIGNED to resist corrosion, applying stuff after you purchase it is just a temporary band-aid.

Thanks for your explanation, bpeebles. Can I imply from your answer that, in rust belt areas such as yours, you continue to see relatively late model Hondas with corrosion problems, and that the respective corrosion warranties accurately reflect the respective corrosion resistance of VWs and Hondas?

I like the way Golfs and Jettas drive more than Civics and Accords, because I find them to have a more responsive and less generic feel. I also prefer VW exterior and interior styling. However, I don't have confidence in VW's reliability, which is why I own a Honda product rather than a VW. Although I live in MD, away from the ocean, I am sensitive to corrosion problems because I grew up in the Rust Belt. While rust used to be a problem for Hondas, the greater protection of the last two or three generations of Hondas has been sufficient so that rust is no longer an ownership concern in these parts. That said, your comments regarding VW compensate, to some degree, for the negative reputation VW has on reliability.

VW owners are usually a unique breed of people....I know I am. We love our cars so much that a few issues of "reliability" are accepted."Reliability" in itself is a very subjective term. My 1996 Golf has NEVER left me stranded, and the items I've replaced are basically wear & tear things that will eventually fail on any car. I have 117,600 miles and fully expect to reach 200,000 with no problems. And yes, I live in Wisconsin, another "Rust Belt" state. I've seen even newer Hondas rust, as new as 2001 models. It's the wheel wells in the rear where it starts. I DO see 20-year-old Hondas still running, so yeah, their mechanicals are great, but the bodies are shot.

I just bought a used 2002 VW with 30000 miles in it. The car is in great shape and in good condition. The car has 16 months of warranty left. As of now I am good with the manufacturer warranty for next 16 months or up to 50000 miles.

The VW dealer offered me a 4 year/48000 miles extended warranty for $1550. If I buy this, effectively I will be covered an additional 32 months or 28000 miles?

Do you think if spending $1550 is worth for coverage of 32 months or 28000 miles?

I have a 2001 Cabrio. When the full coverage was dueto expire (the drivetrain et al are for 10 yrs/100K) in2003, I asked at the dealership re an extension.At that time VW did not offer one. They told me toconsider one they suggested, but it was simply aninsurance arrangement, NOT with VW.

extended warranty offered by the dealer could be through a third party insurance.

Now what I wonder is since I have 21 months/20000 miles (previously i said 16 months and that was wrong) in manufacturer warranty, why are they telling me that if I join the extended warranty, It will be effective immediately. So I will loose 21 months or 20000 miles.